On December 19, Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to withdraw all US forces from Syria. The decision, made against the advice of military leadership, shocked officers in the field and abandoned allies in the region to authoritarian dentist Bashar Assad and Trump’s most trusted adviser Vladimir Putin. In response, Defense Secretary Jim Mattiss resigned and sent 50 copies of his resignation letter to media outlets to vent his displeasure. But despite complaints from the most pro-Trump of pro-Trumpers, Trump defended that decision, saying that ISIS was defeated, that he campaigned on pulling out, that Russia would hate it because they would have to fight the (defeated) ISIS all on their own. Damn the contradictions, full speed ahead.
Until today, when he seems to have done a completely typical Trump 180. NBC News is reporting that Trump responded to a bipartisan group in Congress by saying he agrees “100 percent." NBC reads that as saying that he will keep forces in place to coordinate with allies and see to it that ISIS is not able to reform or recapture lost ground. Which would seem to contradict every argument that Trump has made over the last three months in defending his “all out, right now” approach.
Only … it’s far, far, far from being that clear. Trump’s response didn’t come in the form of a memo, or even a tweet. Instead, it came as a statement scrawled across a copy of the letter sent to him by the congressional group. On the top of that letter asking that a small force stay behind, Trump wrote “I agree 100 percent. All is being done.” So okay then. Only… nope. Because further down in the letter, Trump drew brackets around a single paragraph. That paragraph says only that it’s important makes sure the gains made in Syria are not lost, that ISIS doesn’t return, and that Iran doesn’t become “emboldened.” It mentions an “international force” but says nothing about leaving US forces in place. It appears that this is the paragraph Trump is agreeing with, but that paragraph says nothing about keeping any forces in place. So Trump could be agreeing with all the goals congress states, while agreeing with none of the tactics.
Considering that Trump has already named himself a “national hero” for pulling out of Syria and declared that only he could get the job done, presumably by declaring it done. Those sentiments would seem to make it unlikely that Trump had suddenly developed an appreciation for the delicacies of maneuvering in a place where Russian forces are on the ground in large numbers, government forces have deployed chemical weapons, thousands of ISIS fighters are still wandering around, and sectarian militia are trying to size up their options. Instead it seems likely that Trump either didn’t read the whole memo, or just read the lines he took as agreeing with the action he was already going to take.
For Trump it’s more important to be seen doing than it is to do the right thing. Right now the only thing that’s sure is that everyone, including the troops on the ground, are completely unsure what happens next.